Locomotive.



PATENTED OCT. 9,1906.

G. A. BOTHWELL. LOGOMOTIVE.

Ar2LIuATIo1w FILED NOV. 2. 1905.

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Wiineas eai J'uiualms PETERS ca, WASHINETUN, n. c.

.pro vements.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOCOMOTIVE- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE ALLAN Born- WELL, of the town of Owen Sound, in the county of Grey, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

In railway operation one of the great difliculties met with is the provision of suitable means for mounting the heaviest grades on the line. A locomotive of sufficient pow er to transport the heaviest of ordinary loads on the level or over moderate grades is often entirely inadequate to mount'the heavy grades. The difficulty is ordinarily overcome in various manners-such, for example, as provi ding special engines to be used only on the heavy grades or the use of an extra locomotive at such points. I aim to overcome the difliculty by so constructing a locomotive that while ordinarily perfectly adapted for use on thelevel or moderate grades it yet may be almost instantly adapted to surmount the heaviest grades met with. I accomplish this result by providing the locomotive with a supplementary set of wheels adapted to run on a special track, preferably inside the ordinary rails. Means are further provided by which the weight of the locomotive may be transferred from the ordinary driving-wheels to the supplementary wheels which are geared to the axles of the ordinary driving-wheels to obtain power rather than speed, so as to enable the engine to mount the grade with the greatest ease.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing an outline of a locomotive provided with my im- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts more particularly relating to this invention.

In the drawings like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. i

AA are the rails of the ordinary track. B B are supplemental rails preferably arranged inside the rails A A. The driving-wheels O of the locomotive run on the track A and the supplementalwheels D on the rails B B. The framework of the locomotive is of course suitably shaped to support the various parts.

The axles E of the driving-wheels are journaled in the framework of the engine in the ordinary manner. The axles F of the wheels D are journaled in the eccentrics G, journaled in the framework of the engine. It is evident that by revolving these eccentrics the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 2, 1905. Serial No. 285,610.

PatentedOct. 9, 1906.

axles F may be thrown downward to bring the wheels D into contact with the rails B, and thus lift the dri ring-wheel C from the rails A. Several methods might be adopted to accomplish this result. I show in Fig. 1 each eccentric provided with a lever-arm H, which is pivotally connected to a pitman I, pivotally connected with the cross-head of a piston-rod J of the steamcylinder K. Steamp'ipes L and M lead, respectively, to the lower and upper ends of the cylinders K. These pipes lead to a three-way cock N, to which a steam-pipe O leads from the steamdome. By means of the three-way cock steam may be admitted to the lower ends of the steam-cylinders. The piston-rods will then be lifted and the eccentrics rotated to transfer the weight of the locomotive, as already described. By admitting steam to the upper ends of'the cylinders .the eccentrics will be rotated in the opposite direction and I the wheels D raised from their rails. It is preferable to provide each eccentric with a stop a, with which the arm H may contact, to limit the movement of the eccentric when the wheels D are thrown down. When the l wheels are down, the centers of each eccentric would be in the same vertical line, and practically no strain will be on the steam-cylinders, while the stop a, engaging the arm, resists the strain caused by the draft of the train behind the engine.

In order to maintain the supplemental wheels raised after they have been lifted by the admission of steam to the upper ends of the steam-cylinders, I preferably provide in each steam-cylinder behind the piston a coilspring 0, which tends to force the pistons downward, and thus maintain the wheels D raised. If the engine be provided with a bogie, it will usually be arranged that the bogie will remain in contact with the rails A A, the body of the engine being merely tilted, as it were, upon the bogie as a fulcrum. The operating devices for the two sets of wheels being independent, the latter readily accommodate themselves to this, as necessarily when the engine is tilted on the bogie the rear part must be raised slightly more than the parts nearer to the bogie. The axles IE, it will be seen, are provided with sprocketwheels P and the axles F with sprocketwheels Q. Corresponding sprocket-wheels on their respective axles will be connected by suitable sprocketchains.

Spring-actuated ratchet-clutches R Will be ing shifted during the short space of time that both sets of wheels are necessarily in contact with their respective rails at the' same time. Clutch-shifting mechanism S of ordinary type is provided for operating the clutches R. Ordinarily the sprocket-wheels P will be loose on the axles; but as soon as the weight of the locomotive is transferred to the wheels D these sprocket-wheels will be put into gear with the axles E and the engine thus driven by the supplemental wheels D.

As these wheels are considerably smaller than the ordinary driving-wheels of the locomotive, a great increase of power is obtained, but of course with corresponding decrease in speed. The engine is thus given ample power to climb a grade, and when the top is reached the weight of the locomotive may be again transferred to the ordinary drivingwheels.

The rails B B. may be either plain or, if desired, cogged. In the drawings I show one of the rails cogged and one of the supplemental wheels D. This insures a positive grip on heavy grades when the frictional grip for transferring the driving weight of the locoof the wheels may be insufficient.

I do not, of course, limit myself to the use of the invention with the type of locomotive shown, as any invention is usually modified 5 to adopt it to various types of railway-locomotives.

' From the construction described it may be when the occasion demands to climb the heaviest grades met with in ordinary mountai'n railroading. Of course the supplemental tracks will only be laid where the grades are too steep for the engine to surmount them satisfactorily in the ordinary manner;

What I claim as my invention is 1'. A locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheel's; supplemental wheels means fortransferring the driving weight of the 10- comotive from the driving-wheels to the supplemental wheels; and means for driving the supplemental wheels from the ordinary driving-wheels, substantially as described.

2. A railway-track; and a supplemental track in combination with a locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheels adapted to run on the ordinary track; supplemental wheels adapted to run on the supplemental track; means whereby the driving weight of the locomotive may be transferred to either set of wheels; and means for driving the supplemental wheels from the drivingwheels, substantially as described.

3. A locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheels supplemental wheels; means for transferring the driving weight of the 10- comotive from the driving-wheels to the supplemental wheels means for driving the supplemental wheels from the ordinary drivingwheels and a clutch in said driving mechanism adapted to permit of the supplemental wheels revolving faster than the drivingwheels, substantially as described.

4. A railway-track; and a supplemental track in combination with a locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheels adapted to run on the ordinary track; supplemental wheels adapted to run on the supple-mental track; means whereby the driving weight of the locomotive may be transferred to either set of wheels; means for driving the supplemental wheels from the driving-wheels; and a clutch in said driving mechanism adapted to permit of the supplemental wheels revolving faster than the driving-wheels, substantially as described.

5. A locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheels supplementalwheels; means motive from the driving-wheels to the supplemental wheels; means for driving the supplemental wheels from the ordinary drivingwheels; and a clutch adapted to put said driving means into and out of gear, substantially as described.

6. A locomotive provided with ordinary driving-wheels supplemental wheels secured to a suitable axle; eccentrics journaled in the frame of the locomotive in which eccentrics the said axle is journaled; and means for revolving the eccentrics to raise and lower the axle, substantially as described.

7. A railway-track; and a supplemental track in combinationwi-th a locomotive pro vided with ordinary driving-wheels adapted to run on the ordinary track; supplemental wheels adapted to run on the supplemental track; and means for driving said supplemental wheels, one each of the supplemental wheels and rails being cogged to gear the one with the other, substantially as described.

Owen Sound, October 25, 1905.

GEORGE ALLAN BOTHWELL.

In presence of O. S. MAoKEE, LAURA HowE. 

